Espero que podamos resolver el asunto antes de la reunión.

Because espero que usually triggers the subjunctive in the following clause.

• Espero que podemos... ❌
• Espero que podamos... ✅

In this sentence, espero expresses a wish or hope, not a simple fact. Spanish normally uses the present subjunctive after expressions like:

• Espero que...
• Quiero que...
• Es posible que...
• Me alegra que...

So podamos is the correct form.

Podamos is the present subjunctive of poder for nosotros (we).

Here is the present subjunctive of poder:

• yo pueda
• tú puedas
• él/ella/usted pueda
• nosotros/nosotras podamos
• vosotros/vosotras podáis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes puedan

A useful thing to notice: poder is stem-changing in many forms (pueda, puedas...), but in the nosotros and vosotros forms, the stem change disappears:

• podamos
• podáis

Because after a conjugated modal verb like poder, the next verb usually stays in the infinitive.

So:

• podamos resolver = we may be able to resolve / we can resolve
• not podamos resolvemos ❌

This is the same pattern as in English:

• we can solve
• not we can we solve

Other examples:

• Quiero salir. = I want to leave.
• Podemos hablar. = We can talk.
• Debe estudiar. = He/She must study.

Because que introduces the second clause: that we may be able to resolve the matter...

Structure:

• Espero = I hope
• que podamos resolver el asunto... = that we can resolve the matter...

In Spanish, this que is normally required in this structure.

• Espero que podamos resolverlo. ✅
• Espero podamos resolverlo. Usually not standard in everyday Spanish

So English sometimes drops that, but Spanish usually keeps que here.

Yes, but it means something slightly different.

• Espero que podamos resolver el asunto... = I hope we can resolve the matter...
• Espero resolver el asunto... = I hope to resolve the matter...

The first sentence focuses on our ability/possibility as a group.
The second focuses more directly on my own hope of resolving it.

So they are related, but not identical.

Here el asunto means the matter, the issue, or the business at hand.

It is a common, fairly neutral word for a topic or problem that needs dealing with.

Possible translations depending on context:

• the matter
• the issue
• the situation
• the business

Although asunto can sometimes look like affair in a dictionary, in this sentence the matter/issue is much more natural.

Compare:

• Tenemos que hablar de este asunto. = We need to talk about this matter.
• Es un asunto complicado. = It’s a complicated issue.

Because antes de is used before a noun.

Here, la reunión is a noun phrase:

• antes de la reunión = before the meeting

Use antes de + noun:

• antes de clase
• antes del examen
• antes de la reunión

But if what follows is a verb clause, then you use antes de que + subjunctive:

• antes de que empiece la reunión = before the meeting starts

So:

• antes de la reunión ✅
• antes de que empiece la reunión ✅
• antes que la reunión ❌ in this meaning

Because the stress falls on the last syllable: reu-nión.

Without the accent, Spanish pronunciation rules would suggest a different stress pattern. The written accent shows that the stressed syllable is -nión.

Pronunciation tip:

• reunión is pronounced roughly reh-oo-NYON
• the stress is on the end

This word can be a little tricky because of the vowel sequence eu, but the main thing to remember is the final stressed syllable.

Spanish often uses the definite article more naturally than English does.

So antes de la reunión is completely normal and usually the most natural way to say before the meeting.

In context, it often refers to a specific meeting already known to the speakers.

Examples:

• Hablamos después de la clase. = We’ll talk after class.
• Antes del almuerzo... = Before lunch...
• Llegó antes de la reunión. = He/She arrived before the meeting.

English sometimes omits the article where Spanish keeps it.

Often, yes—at least slightly.

Both can work, but they are not always identical:

• resolver un asunto / un problema = to resolve a matter / problem
• solucionar un problema = to solve a problem

Resolver is very common and works well with asunto.
Solucionar is also common, but it sounds best especially with things like problema.

So:

• resolver el asunto sounds very natural
• solucionar el asunto is possible, but a bit less idiomatic in many contexts

Yes, but the meaning changes a bit.

• asunto = matter, issue, business at hand
• tema = topic, subject
• problema = problem

So:

• resolver el asunto = resolve the matter/issue
• resolver el tema = less common; sounds more like dealing with a topic
• resolver el problema = solve the problem

If the situation is clearly a difficulty, problema may be better.
If it is just a pending matter or case, asunto is a good choice.

Yes, but the structure changes.

You could say:

• Ojalá podamos resolver el asunto antes de la reunión.

This means something like Hopefully we can resolve the matter before the meeting or I hope we can resolve the matter before the meeting.

Notice:

• with espero, you need que:
  Espero que podamos...
• with ojalá, you do not use que:
  Ojalá podamos...

Both are natural, but ojalá can sound a little more emotional or emphatic.

Yes, it works perfectly in Spain, but it is also standard in most of the Spanish-speaking world.

Nothing in the sentence is strongly region-specific. A speaker from Spain would say it naturally, and so would many speakers from Latin America.

The only small point is that the sentence uses nosotros-style grammar indirectly through podamos, which is standard everywhere. There is nothing unusual or especially local about the wording.

It breaks down like this:

• Espero = I hope
• que = that
• podamos = we may be able to / we can
• resolver = resolve
• el asunto = the matter / the issue
• antes de la reunión = before the meeting

So the pattern is:

[verb of hope] + que + [subjunctive clause]

More generally:

• Espero que vengas. = I hope you come.
• Espero que tengamos tiempo. = I hope we have time.
• Espero que podamos resolver el asunto... = I hope we can resolve the matter...